Wire drawing machine



Feb. 23, 14943. R. c. PIERCE `Er Al.

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE YFiled oct. 27,; 1939 7 sheets-smet 1f 'Fb 23, 1943 A R. c. PIERCE rs1-AL 2,311,775

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE A TTORN Feb. 1943. v R MERCE ETAL 2,311,775

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed 001'.. 27, 1939 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Raaf/P7' CZ HaHa/5 fo/VAR@ @6E/mylar Feb. 23, 1943. R. c.I PIERCE ETAL WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed oct. 27, 1959 'r sheets-sheetll INVENTOR.

Penh. 23, 1943. R. c. PIERCE ETAL v2,311,775

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed ot. 27, 1959v 'r sheets-sheet 5 'Y INVENTOR. Raaf/wc: Pff/ir: BY zZ/ww@ a. .afRQu/sr ATTO Fveb. 23, 1943. R. c, PIERCE ETAL 2,311,775

WIRE DRAWING Il/AcHINE Filed 4out. 27, 1959 7 sheets-sheet 6 INVENTOR. 8055/?? 6'. P/Rcf BY .l5 NAH@ 6.55200/.5r-

ATT E175 Feb. 1943. R C, MERCE ETAL 2,311,775

' WIRE DRAWING MACHINE v Filed oct. 27, 193s 7 sheets-sheet 7 INVENTOR. ROBERT C. P/ERCE E IVA/rp 65E/mwst ATTO Patented Feb. 123,' 1943 wma DRAWING MACHINE Robert C. Pierce and Leonard G. Berquist, Niles,

Mich., assignors to National Standard Company, Niles, Mich., a corporation `o f Michigan l Application october 27, 1939, serial No. 301,648

11 Claims.

This invention relates to Wire drawing machines and more particularly machines of the type in which a wire is drawn successively and continuously through a plurality of dies.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine of this type having improved back-tension'- ing means.

stan broken away to reveal the details of the(` e capstan mounting bracket and the one-way de- Another object of the invention is to provide a I machine of this type having fluid ated back-tensioning devices.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a wire drawing machine having improved pressure Opelmeans for controlling the speed with which the wire is drawn throughthe several dies.

Still another object of the invention is to provide greater ease in threading the machine such as by providingmanual control means for the uid pressure operated back-tensioning device.

Still another object is to overcome difliculties encountered by tangling of the wire when the machine is stopped. This tangling may arise from backward turning of the capstans under the influence of the back-tensioning devices and one means of accomplishing the above object is by providing a suitable one-way device in engagementy with the capstans. t

Another object is to provide improved and eas ily controlled adjustments in the speed regulating mechanism; and

A further object is to provide improved cooling arrangements for the dies and capstans.

'I'he above and other objects and desirable particular arrangements of parts will be apparent upon reading the following detailed description of one embodiment of my invention shown in lthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational viw of my novel machine with the several similar intermediate sections broken out;

Figure 2 is an end elevational View as seen from the right-hand end of Figure 1;

Figure3 is a front'elevational view,V on an enlarged scale, of a portion of one of the back-' tensioning devices, and its corresponding speed control mechanism;

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is' a sectional view on a still larger scale taken on the line 5-5 of Figure v3;

Figure 6 isa sectional ,view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5; v

Figure 7 isv a partial sectional view taken on a plane passing vertically through the axis of one of the capstans;

Figure 8 is a front elevational view of a cap- 49 to the driven shafts of Reeves type variable speed n to seven or more to form a complete machine.

vice;y

' Figure 9 is a partial plan view of a capstan mounting bracket showing the one-way device in detail;

Figure 10 is a sectional view on the line Ill-I0 of Figure 9;

Figurel 11 'is a vfront'felevational view with parts l broken away of a portion ofthe speed control mechanism;

Figure 12 is a piping diagram of the water cooling mechanism; and

Figure 13 is a piping diagram of the control mechanism for the pneumatic back-tensioning devices.

Referring now to the drawings, we prefer to build our novel machine in units made up of a die, a capstan, driving mechanism for the capstan, and a back-tensioning device, and these units may be combined in any number from three The rst and last units differ from the others; the first in the Yelimination of the back-tensioning device, and the last in the addition of a second back-tensioning device with corresponding speed control mechanism for a Wndup reel, which is not shown. In Figure l we have been able'to show only a portion of a first unit and a last unit, but it will be understood that several intermediate units would be employed. l

,Each unit may comprise a base I0 upon which may be erected a box like frame work I2 which may be enclosed with sheets of steel for the pure pose of improving the appearance of the machine and for safety. Brackets I4 are secured to the bases and provide journals for shafts 20 carrying capstans I8. The capstans are provided with gear teeth 22 meshing with pinions 24 secured transmissions 26 mounted "on the bases I0 and driven by electric motors 28. The motors 28 are preferably the squirrel cage induction type for operation on alternating current. The motors may be controlled by push buttons 2l vand suitably disposed limit switches' 29 connected in a circuit such yas that described and claimed in a patent of RichardE. Koontz,`No. 2,153,192 granted April 4, 1939.

The brackets I4 may be provided with arms 30 forming rigid supports for adjustable die holders 32 carrying dies 34. The die holders are preferably positioned ona vertical tangent to the entering sde of the capstans and the dies'are pref- Verably provided with cups'36 for holding a powdie of the first unit over a sheave 38 mounted on a pedestal 40 secured to the top of the frame work I2, the sheave 38 being positioned so that the wire passes vertically downwardly therefrom through the die 34 and on to the capstan I8.

Succeeding units of the machine are each provided with a vertical guide-way comprising two parallel rods 42 having their lower ends seated in suitable brackets 44.secured to the top of the frame work I2 and connected together at their upper ends by a casting 46. A slide 48 is mounted for vertical movement formed and carries a sheave 50 adapted to receive wire from the capstan of the preceding unit coming substantially vertically upwardly therefrom to pass thereover and thence to vertically downward through the next die and on to the next capstan. The last unit is provided with a similar mechanism, to which the same reference numerals are applied, receiving wire from the last capstan and delivering it to a windup. reel (not shown).

Each capstan may be provided with a device 52 for preventing unwincling of the wire therefrom. This device may be cf the type disclosed and claimed in a prior application of Robert C. Pierce, Serial No. 237,202, led October 27, 1938, which issued as Patent No. 2,257,645 on Sept. 30, 1941.

Each of the slides 48 has secured thereto a uid cylinder 54 lclosed at its upper end by a cap 56 and having at its lower end a cap 58 having a on the guldeway thus The casting 46 at the upper ends of the guideways have rotatably mounted thereon sprockets 92 and the brackets 62 have pivotally mounted therein shaft 94 to which are secured sprockets 96. A continuous sprocket chain 98 extends around the sprockets 92 and 96 and one side thereof is adjustably secured to the slide 48 by central opening therein for the passage of a piston rod 60. We prefer touse a compressible fluid such as air in this cylinder although nothing herein is intended, to limit the applicability of our invention to the use of other fluids whether compressible or incompressible. The brackets 44 have a rearward and downward extension 62 to which the lower end of. the piston rods 60 are connected and the upper ends of the piston rods 60 carry double acting pistons 64. The cylinders 54 are thus divided into two working chambers- 66 and 68 and air pressure is supplied to the upper chambers 66 by means to be described later, to exert an upward force on the sheaves 50 and thus create a back tension on the wire being drawn in the machine. The lower chambers 68 are provided with restricted bleed openings 10 which permit the passage of air to and from these chambers rapidly enough to permit normal movements of the slides, but, in the event that the wire should break, prevents rapid movements of the slides which might result in damage to the machine.

Air is provided from any suitable source and is conducted along the machine structure jby means oi a header pipe 12. At each unit of the machine a conduit 14 branches from the header and passes through a pressure reducing valve 16 which is adjustable byv means of a hand wheel 18 and thence through a T-tting 80, to the branches of which are connected a pressure gauge 82 and a pressure relief valve 84 which is also adjustable by means of a. hand wheel 86. The conduit 14 next passes through a manually controllable three-Way valve 88 controlled by a handle 90 and thence to the chamber 66 of the respective cylinder 54. The most convenient connection to the chamber 66 is formed by making the piston rods 60 hollow and by connecting the conduits 14 to their fixed 'lower ends.

means to be described later.

The shafts 94 extend rearwardly of themachine and are connected by mechanism |00 to be described later, to abutting shafts |02 having their far ends pivoted in brackets |04 secured to the rearmost portion of the frame work I2. The shafts |02 carry sprockets |06 drivably connected to sprockets |08 on the Reeves drivesvoi thenext preceding unit by means of sprocket chainsHU. The sprockets |08 on the Reeves drives control the relationship between the speeds of the driving and driven shafts thereof by connections not important to this invention as the said drive is a standard commercial product.

It is necessary, however, to describe somewhat generally the structure of this transmission in order to appreciate an important minor feature of our invention. The driving shafts ||2 of the transmissions (which are connected to the respective motors 28) carry V-belt pulleys made up of opposed cones ||4 which are adjusted axially relativento each other by the turning of the sprockets |08. The driven shafts II6 (which are connected by additional reduction gearing to the pin 24, which drive the capstans I8) carry sirnilar'pulleys comprising cones I|8 which are continuously urged toward each other, such as by springs |20. 'I'he two pulleys formed by the cones I|4 and II8 respectively are connected by V-belts` |22. In order to reduce the speed of the capstans I8 the cones I I4 are separated, and this can be accomplished by rotating the sprocket |08 whether the machine is running or stopped since the V-belts .|22 will not interfere with such movement. However, if the machine-'is to be speeded up the cones I4 must be moved towards each other and the belts |22 must be forced out from between the cones and this can be accomplished only when the machine is running.

Consequently, we have provided the devices |00 connecting the shaft portions 94 and |02 to of driving and'to provide resilient connections to drive the sprockets |08 in the direction to increase the speed. These devices comprise genera'llyv cylindrical housings |24 secured to the shaft portions 94 so .that portions of said shafts project therein and having the shaft portions |02 rotatably projecting into the other ends thereof. Within the housings helical torsion springs |26 have one end connected to each of the shaft portions 94 and |02. Collars |28 are clamped to the shaft portions |02 adjacent the ends of the housings |24 and are provided with dogs |30 engageable with similar dogs |32 formed on the ends of the said housings. Thus it will be seen that, if the shafts 94 are turned in a direction to decrease the speed of the respective capstans, tne dogs |32 engage the dogs |30 and positively turn the shaft |02, but, if the shafts 94 are turned to increase the speed, and, if the transmissions cannot immediately accept the adjustment (e. g. if the machine is stopped) the spring |26 will be wound up and will exert a force on the shaft |02 to turn it when it is possible for the adjustment to be made.

The novel adjustable connections between the slides 48 and the respective sprocket chains 98 is shown in detail in Figuresl and 6. Brackets |34 project rearwardly from the slides 48 and carryrgrooved keys |36 over which the sprocket chains 98 slide. Housings |38 are bolted to the brackets |34 and have rotatably mounted therein shafts |40 carrying sprockets |42 and worm wheelsV |44. The teeth of the sprockets come nearly into contact with the keys |36 so that the chains 98 are securely held between the keys and sprockets. Laterally and downwardly extending shafts |46, rotatably mounted in the housing |38, carry worms |48 meshing with the worm wheels |44. The shafts |46 project out of the housings |38 and carry hand wheels |50 by which they may be turned. The shafts |46 may be formed with indentations |52 receiving spring pressed detents |54 secured in the housings |38 to prevent undesired turning of the shafts through vibration of the machine or the like. It will be understood that, by these novel devices, the point of connection between the chains 98 and the respective slides 48 can be readily changed with a corresponding change in the position of the respective slide for a given speed of the capstan feeding wire thereto.

As an important minor feature of theinvention the capstan mounting brackets are provided with laterally extending arms |56 carrying blocks |58 positioned just inside the rims of the capstans (see Figs. 8, 9 and 10). The blocks have out out portions forming ramp surfaces |60 in relation to the inner surfaces of the capstans. Hardened steel rollers |62 are positioned within the cut out portions so that if the capstans tend to turn in the reverse direction the rollers jam between the said two surfaces `and prevent such turning.

lThe blocks |58 are each formed with a pair of slots |64 paralleling the face of the capstans and a bore paralleling the axes of the rollers. Square shafts |66 project through the bores and carry pairs of fingers |68 in the slots |64. Rearwardly of the arms |56, levers are secured to the square shafts |66 and push rods |12 (projecting above the machine frame for manual operation thereof) are secured to the lever |10. Springs |14, securedto the arms, hold them up so that thefingers |68 are normally retracted in the slots |64. If it is desired to release one of the oneway devices to permit the reverse rotation of the respective capstan, it is only necessary to push down on the push rod |12 to swing the arm |10 and fingers |68 in a clockwise direction until the fingers |68 engage and lift the roller |62 from its jamming engagement between the ramp surface |60 and the inner surface of the capstan rim.

This mechanism prevents difliculties arising when the machine-is stopped and started. frequently. The tensioningforce on the slides 48 sometimes. draws the capstans backwardly enough to let the slides Vgo to the top ofthe guideways. This causes the wire to become so slack that it may loop over itself on one of the capstans with the result that, when the machine is started, the wire is broken. The release is essential for convenience in operating the machine, particularly in .threading it.

Another important feature of novelty resides in the ,arrangements for cooling the dies andcapstans. The capstan shafts 20 have already been described as hollow and the passage therethrough may be designated by the reference numeral |16. The shafts are carried in suitable Ybearings such as the roller bearings |18 in the brackets |4 and vhave a reduced diameter portion projecting forwardly on to which the hubs |80 of the capstans are keyed. The hubs may be secured in place by plates |82 bolted thereinto andinto the ends of the shaft'. VWe prefer to fabricate the capstans by welding and they may generally comprise hubs |80 to which are welded plates |84 forming a web onto the outer periphery of which are secured `the rims |86.

' The rims |86 may be formed integrally with the gear teeth .|22 and are also formed with a wide shallow groove |88 in which the wire is wound. Second discs or webs |90, formed with large cen-` tral openings, arelwelded to the inner surfaces of the rims at a slight axial distance forward of the main webs |84. The large central openings of the discs |90 are closed by a parti-spherical cap |92 secured by screws or the like on the edges of A said openings. It will be noted that this construction provides inclosed hollow spaces |84 within the capstans which communicates with the passages |16 in the capstan shafts 20.

Special pipe fitting |96 positioned at the rear of the shafts 20 in axial alignment therewith are provided with two coaxial tubes |98 and 200. The outer tubes |98 project into the passages- |16 and are maintained in sealing relationship with the wallsthereof by means of packing glands 202. The inner tubes 200 project entirely through said passages into the chambers |94 in the capstans, and then extend radially through said chambers to points adjacent the rims of the capstans. The ends of these tubes are positioned so that they may discharge water against the inner surfaces of the rims of the capstans a little bit ahead of the point where the wire leaving the dies contacts the outer surfaces of the capstan rims.

The special pipe fitting |96 is constructed so thaty it may receive a pipe 204 communicating solely with the inner tube 200 and a pipe 206 communicating solely with the annular space be; tween the inner and outertubes and thus communicating with the passage |16 in the capstan.

The die holders32 are also formed with suit- I able water cooling passages in any well known manner and water is conducted to the die holders from a main manifold 208 through conduits 2|0 4branching therefrom at each unit. Each of the To place our novel machine in operation it is first threaded by conducting a wire from a supply reel (not shown) over the sheave 38 and downwardly through the first die. The wire is then wrapped several times around the i'lrst capstan and then is Vled therefrom over the sheave 50 at the next machine ,unit and downwardly into the next die, etc.

mentioned threading operation resides in the ease with which the 4slides 48 may be positioned under the manual control of the three-way valve 88. In the position shown in Figure13 it will be seen that the valvej88 is admitting air to the An important` advantage of' our machine in the performance of the aforechamber 66 so as to tend to raise the slide. By rotating the handle 90 to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 13, air may be exhausted from the chamber 66 to permit the slide to fall under the inuence of gravity. By placing the handle 90 in an intermediate position the passage of air to or from the chamber 66 ,is completely barred so that the slide 48 is held in any position to which it has been moved. When the machine is completely threaded the valve 90 may be moved to the position shown in full lines in Figure 13, the pressure reducing valve may be adjusted to admit a pressure from the pipe 12 sufcient to exert the desired back tension. This pressure might be 40 lbs. per square inch. The gauge 82 is provided for convenience in setting the desired pressure. The pressure relief valve 84 is then adjusted by the hand wheel 86 to exhaust air from the conduit 14 or chamber 66 if the pressure should vrise more than a predeterminedr amount above the pressure to which the pressure reducing valve is set. In accordance with the previous example given this pressure might be 42 lbs. per square inch. Thus it will be observed that, if one of the slides rises due to the fact that the preceding capstan feeds wire to it faster than the succeeding one takes it away, the pressure in the chamber 66 will tend to fall below the set pressure whereupon the reducing valve 16 will admit additional air 4to maintain the pressure. If conditions are now reversed, and the slide is drawn downwardly, the pressure in the chamber 66 tends to increase, and, if it increases above the pressure on which the exhaust valve 40 is set, air will escape.

The variable speed transmission of the last unit of the machine is manually adjustable so that a given size of wire may be drawn at a desired rate. With the machine threaded and in operation, all of the other transmissions are controlled by the respective slide 48 immediately succeeding them, thus if a capstan is running too fast the succeeding slide 48 will move upwardly in its guide Way drawing the respective sprocket chain 98 with it and thus rotating the shaft 94, the shaft |02 and the sprockets |06 1. In a wire drawing machine or the like, ak

die, means on one side of the die for drawing Wire through the die, a movable member on the other side of the die over which the wire passes to the die, a uid cylinder and piston arranged to exert a force on said member to exert a back tension on the wire, means for automatically maintaining a predetermined fluid pressure in said cylinder, and meansincluding a three-way valve for manually regulating said pressure to position 'said member preparatory to threading the machine.

2. In a wire drawing machine or the like, a die, means on one side of the die for drawing wire through the die, a movable member on the other side of the die over which the wire passes to the die, a fluid cylinder and piston arranged to exert a force on said member to exert a back tension on the wire, and means for maintaining a predetermined fluid pressure in said cylinder, said last-named means comprising a source of pressure, a conduit extending from saidsource of `pressure to said cylinder, a pressure reducing valve, a pressure relief valve and a manually operable three-way valve, said valves being positioned in said conduit in the recited order with and |08 to lower the speed of the transmission l 26 driving said capstan.

If a capstan is rotating too slowly, the reverse motions will take place resulting in the adjustment of the transmission 26 to increase the speed of said capstan. In the event that, when the machine has been placed in. operation and the speeds of the several capstans have become established, it is found that the slides 48 remain in a position too near one or the other of their extremes of motion, the respective hand wheels |50 may be rotated in appiopriate directions to shift the connections ofthe said slides and their respective sprocket chains |98 and thus vary the positions of the slides for a given speed of the capstan which is feeding wire thereto. Thus if it is desired to raise the slide the hand wheel may be rotated to the right so that the sprocket |42 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Figure 6. This will result in downward movement of the chain and the slight increase in the speed of the preceding capstan whereupon more wire will be fed to permit the slide to move said three-way valve nearest said cylinder.

3. In a wire drawing machine or the like, a die, means on one side of the die for drawing wire through the die, a movable member on the other side of the die over which the wire passes to the die, a iiuid cylinder and piston arranged to exert a force on said member to exert a back tension on the wire, means for varying the speed of feeding of the wire, connections from said movable member to said speed varying means, and readily adjustable means in said connections for varying the position of said movable member for a given speed of feeding.

4. In a wire.` drawing machine or the like, a die, means on one side of the die for drawing wire through the die, a movable member on the other side of the die over which the wire passes to the die, a fluid cylinder and piston arranged to exert a force on said member to exert a back tension on the Wire, means for varying the speed of feeding of the wire, and connections from said movable member to said speed varying means including a sprocket chain extending alongA the path of said member, a sprocket on said member meshing with said chain and manually operable means for rotating 'the sprocket to vary the position of said member for a given speed of feeding.

5. In a wire drawing machine or the like, Wire feeding means, and speed control mechanism for the wire feeding means including a member movable in accordance with variations in the feeding ofthe wire, a speed varying device, and connections between the speed varying device and the member to vary the speed in accordance with the movements of said device, said connections including an endless sprocket chain having a portion extending in the path of movement of said member, a sprocket secured to said member and meshing with said chain, and manual means for upwardly as desired as long as the hand wheel Y rotating said sprocket.

6. In a. machine for treating material in strip form, a. movable member, a control device, and a variable connection between said member and said device including a sprocket chain extending in the path of movement of said member,

a shaft mounted on said member,- a sprocket secured to the shaft and meshing with the chain, and means normally holding said shaft but permitting manual rotation thereof. y

7. In a multiple wire drawing machine, a plurality of dies, a plurality of capstans for drawing wire through the dies, a plurality of devices for tensioning the wire as it passes from one capstan to a succeeding die, said devices including a movable -member and a uid cylinder and piston acting between said member and'a fixed part of the machine, and a one-way device engaging each capstan for preventing backward rotation of the capstan under the inuence lof said tensioning devices when the machine is stopped.

8. In a multiple-wire drawing machine, a plurality of dies, a plurality of capstans for drawing wire through the dies, a plurality of devices for tensioning the wire as it passes from one capstan to a succeeding die, and a one-way device engaging each capstan for preventing backward rotation of the capstans under the inuence of said tensioning devices when the machine is stopped.

9. In a multiple wire drawing machine, a plurality of dies, a plurality of capstans for drawing wire through the dies, tensioning devices for tensioning the wire as it passes from one capstan to a succeeding die, a one-way device engaging each capstan for preventing backward rotation of the capstans under the inuence of said tensioning devices when the machine is stopped,

and manually operable means for releasing said one-way devices.

10. In a wire drawing machine, a plurality of I dies, a plurality of capstans'for drawing wire through the dies, motors for driving the capstans, driving mechanism between the motors and capstans including a speed varying mechanism of lthe Reeves type, wire tensioning devices between each capstan and the succeeding die including a movable member over which the wire passes, and connections between said movable member and the speed varying device of the respective capstan including a. rotatable shaft divided into two abutting sections and positively joined for rotative driving in a direction to decrease the speed of the capstan and resiliently joined for rotative driving in a direction to increase the speed of the capstan, said resilient joining being accomplished by means of a torsion spring having an end join'ed to each of said abutting sections. l

1l. In a machine of the class described, a variable speed mechanism of the Reeves type and automatic control means therefor including two abutting shaft sections, members secured 'to said. shaft sections having projecting' lugs engageable to enable one shaft section to'y positively drive the other in one direction, and. a

. torsion spring having an end connected to each shaft section to provide a resilient driving connection between the shaft sections in the other direction.l

ROBERT C. PIERCE. LEONARD G. BERQUIST. 

